Sunday, January 30, 2011

Valentine's Cookies: Linzer Heart Cookies

What is a Linzer Cookie you might ask? Well, I headed over to the Joy of Baking history page and learned a bit of history on these delightful little cookies.

These cookies have the same ingredients as the famous Linzertorte which originates in Austria. It is believed that the Linzertorte originated in the City of Linz, where written recipes began to appear in the early 1700s. Traditionally this torte consisted of a crust made with flour, ground nuts (traditionally almonds), sugar, egg yolks, spices and lemon zest that was filled with preserves (traditionally black currant) and then topped with a lattice crust.

The same is true of Linzer Cookies. Here, two cookies are sandwiched together with a layer of preserves. The top cookie, dusted with confectioners sugar, has a cutout so the preserves are visible. I've seen them a lot at Christmas time, but these fun Valentine's version looks very festive.

Anyway, the cookies are very cute and truly yummy--this recipe has a nicely complex mixture of lemon and spice that is just scrumptious. You should make some. They won't disappoint.

I used the recipe from Diana's Dessert--have you ever been to her site? It is so fun!